Matthew Santoro presents a list of 10 disturbing modern torture methods still in use today. These methods include:
1. The Tiger Bench (China): A long bench with a board against the back and head, where bricks are added under the feet until the straps or feet break.
2. The Tucker Telephone (USA): A device that sends electric shocks to the genitals through a modified telephone.
3. The Cold Cell (USA): A method of sensory deprivation using an air conditioner to keep a prisoner cold for hours, days, or years.
4. The Syrian Torture Method (Syria): A method involving a small box where the prisoner is left in uncomfortable positions, electrocuted, and forced to eat food that rolls out of reach.
5. White Torture (Iran): A form of emotional and psychological torture using sensory deprivation and isolation in a white-colored cell.
6. Waterboarding (USA and others): A technique that recreates the sensation of drowning by pouring water over the face and nasal passages.
7. Cat o' Nine Tails (various countries): A whip used for judicial punishment, capable of causing serious damage and death.
8. The Picana (Argentina): A wand or prod that gives high-voltage, low-electric shocks to the victim, often used with water to increase sensitivity.
9. The Strappado (various countries): A method where the subject's hands are tied behind their back and hung from their wrists, causing dislocated shoulders and extreme pain.
10. The Flying Carpet (Syria and ISIS): A technique involving beatings, cigarette burns, electrical shocks, and stretching the spine, causing unimaginable pain and discomfort.
These methods are still used in various parts of the world, often in secret or under the guise of "enhanced interrogation techniques."
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The Tiger Bench is a method of torture used in China, primarily on practitioners of Falun Gong.
2. The Tiger Bench involves securing a prisoner to a long bench with a board against their back and head, and adding bricks under their feet until the straps break or their feet break.
3. In 2002, a woman was tortured using the Tiger Bench, resulting in visible bones in her ankles.
4. The Tucker Telephone is a torture device used in Arkansas in the 1960s, which involves sending electric shocks to a prisoner's genitals.
5. The CIA has used the Cold Cell, a method of torture that involves placing a prisoner in front of an air conditioner for hours, days, or even years.
6. The Syrian Torture Method involves placing a prisoner in a small box with their hands and feet bound, and subjecting them to electrocution and discomfort.
7. Waterboarding is a torture technique that has been used since pre-colonial times, involving pouring water over a prisoner's face and nasal passages to simulate drowning.
8. The Picana is an electric shock device used in Argentina and other countries, which can be used for extended periods without killing the subject.
9. The Strappado is a form of torture that involves hanging a prisoner from their wrists, often causing dislocated shoulders and extreme pain.
10. The Flying Carpet is a torture technique that involves strapping a prisoner to a piece of wood, and subjecting them to beatings, cigarette burns, and electrical shocks.
11. The North Vietnamese Army and the Khmer Rouge have used the Strappado torture technique in the past.
12. Turkey has used the Strappado torture technique, with enhancements such as high-pressure water and electric shocks.
13. The CIA has used waterboarding on members of al-Qaeda.
14. The Syrian government has used the Syrian Torture Method on prisoners.
15. The use of the Cat-o'-nine-tails whip is still practiced in some countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, and Barbados.